Creative works and thoughts of Richard Burke

Tag Archives: Cityscape

For the last month we have been touring Europe to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary. Our journey through Europe covered 1600 kilometers and five countries. I took about 2000 images and videos and surely will be busy editing and publishing for a while. Like most good European journeys we started in Amsterdam. Our flight on Lufthansa had been canceled and we were forced to ride in middle seats on United so when we hit the ground we were hungry, bitchy, and jet lagged. On our way to find food and a coffee shop I stopped for a second to take this image.

Fortunately we have been to Amsterdam before because the next day we would board our ship and sail down the Rhine. We didn’t have too much time for sight seeing. This was taken facing the city from the central train station.

There are many myths on why Chicago is called The Second City. Of course egocentric New Yorkers think it is because Chicago is second to New York. This is odd because if you think about population Los Angeles is first and if you think about age both Boston and Philadelphia are older. Bur of course New Yorkers tend to be full of themselves.

The one that is probably real is that the Chicago we know today rose from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1837. The great fire destroyed an area about 4 miles long and encompassing an area of more than 2,000 acres. It destroyed were more than 73 miles of roads, 120 miles of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts and 17,500 buildings. Of the 300,000 inhabitants of Chicago at the time,100,000 were left homeless. The City was entirely rebuilt and as you can see is looking pretty good.

This view is from the 22nd floor of a Chicago Loop high rise and prints can be purchased on my commercial site.

Tomorrow we begin to wind our way north back to the cold wilds of the Northland. We say goodbye to pelicans, spoonbills, herons, young men in speedos and bikini babes. Back to the mountain without Cine Bistro, sushi resturants and without our lifelong friends that took such good care of us.

We will be back Tampa Bay next winter and instead of being in a beach hovel we will be in a lovely little house in Dunedin about 500 feet from St. Joseph Sound. Until then, adios.

Lincoln Park is an upscale neighborhood of Chicago and has a strong German heritage and European feel. From a rooftop you can get a feel of how spread out the City is. Even at two miles from downtown Chicago with an 18mm Wide Angle lens it is difficult to capture the entire skyline. This is Chicago from a rooftop terrace.

Most visitors think of Chicago as an ethnic melting pot. A stew of irish,Italian, hispanic,Russian,Polish and Chinese? Really? Chinese? There is a large ethnic Chinese neighborhood in Chicago located on the South Side, centered on Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, and is an example of an American Chinatown. OK, it’s not as big as the ones in New York, San Francisco or Seattle but has essentially the same stuff; authentic restaurants,dojos, food stores and shops selling everything from crap to high end objects d’art and jewelry. You can see more images from Chicago and buy prints at my commercial gallery.